​​Coaching Vs. Therapy: How To Make the Best Choice

When you have a problem you want to solve, a goal you want to achieve, or an issue you want to resolve, it’s important to know which helping profession will be the best fit. According to Dr. Mary Gresham, an Atlanta-based psychologist and my coach since 2012, it’s important to know the differences between coaching, consulting, and counseling, so that when you need help you know where to look.

Most experts agree that a key point of differentiation between coaching and therapy is goal orientation. While clients of coaches show up with goals they want to work toward, patients of therapists show up with issues that are causing them distress. Tom Henschel agrees as he says the goal of coaching is not to heal inner scars, but to find ways to work around the client’s obstacles.

Coaches spend a great deal of time looking forward into the future with clients — setting, resetting, and clarifying goals, developing and implementing action plans, and adjusting and measuring progress against those plans. Therapists, on the other hand, focus more on the issues or sources of distress in the present and how life patterns have brought about these issues, so as to bring about a resolution and relief for the patient.

Often, therapists are positioned as experts who can help guide the client or patient to unravel and resolve the issue causing them distress. Coaches instead approach their working relationship from the perspective that the client is the expert in their own life and, as Rho Sandberg says, a whole, resourceful, and capable person. Coaches must resist the temptation to impose their ideas or agenda on the client. Coaches who don’t risk getting in the way of the client’s natural and beneficial process.

Finally, but not least importantly, unlike the field of therapy, as a relatively new profession there are no professional licensing requirements for coaches. Qualifications and training vary widely. Many coaches operate with no credentials at all, and some training programs issue coaching certifications in a weekend. People looking to hire a coach should take this under advisement. To determine whether a coach’s credentials are valid and relevant, look for certifications from established institutions that are national or international in scope with ties to professional organizations or academic institutions.

In summary, the essential difference between a coach and a psychologist is goal orientation and the client or patient’s reason for seeking help. In coaching, we focus on goals and how to guide the client forward in achieving them. In counseling it’s about getting to the root of the patient’s distress and finding the path to relief. In order to get the best help, you must know what kind of help it is you need.

How to contact me.

Something on your mind that’s not covered on this website? Contact me.